BY OLYMPIA MEOLA

The House of Delegates today passed 55-43 an overhaul of the public school teacher and principal contract and evaluation process, which would essentially phase out a tenure-like system in favor of term contracts.

The measure, which would make it easier for school divisions to fire teachers, is a centerpiece of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s education agenda. It has drawn opposition from advocates for teachers who want to see a grievance procedure for instructors on term contracts.

House Majority Leader M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, a high school government teacher, argued in support of the bill on the House floor, saying “you go to any public school in this commonwealth and they can tell you who the bad teachers are.

“And the reason why they can tell you who the bad teachers are, is because they’ve been there for years.”

Del. Ken Plum, D-Fairfax, said there’s been a continued decline in support for the public education system and that lawmakers do local school teachers a disservice by saying they are not evaluated now.

“What we ought to be doing is supporting our local governments and our local school boards and not micromanaging from Richmond with the idea being that because we’ve been to school we know what’s best,” he said.

The overhaul has undergone major alterations from McDonnell’s original proposal to institute annual contracts and evaluations, to a plan that would allow teachers currently on continuing contracts — about 90 percent of the state’s 100,000 public school teachers — to keep them. 

Under the latest version, teachers who are not eligible for a continuing contract by the 2013-14 school year would receive a three-year term contract, which would not automatically renew.

Probationary periods would stretch to five from three years and all teachers and principals would have annual evaluations.

The House version also allows teachers with continuing contracts to keep them if they switch school divisions.

McDonnell said on a tele-town hall arranged by his political operation last week that this effort “fits in very well with the reforms that we made last year to start a merit pay program for teachers,” which is in a pilot phase with 25 schools.

“My goal is to get this worked out, pay teachers for performance, have more accountability, because we owe every student a great teacher, and then in the future is to hopefully implement a more broad merit pay program.”

McDonnell said today after the House vote that the legislation “will recognize our teachers for their success; provide teachers and administrators with benchmarking and performance measures; and, in the end, yield better results for our students.”

“I am pleased that the House of Delegates recognizes the importance of this legislation that will ensure our students have access a world-class education taught by Virginia’s best teachers.”